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Your New Car 



Published By 

The Perfection Spring Company, 

Cleveland, Ohio. 






Copyrighted 1913 
By 

The Perfection Spring Company, 

Cleveland, Ohio. 



JAN 2 1914 



©CLA3C1511 



'Dedicated 
^ruth and Jlccuracy 



Foreword 



/^\WNERS of the makes of automobiles fitted with Per- 
^^ fection Springs will scarcely have occasion to obtain 
repairs — Perfection Springs do not break in normal serv- 
ice, if at all! 

DUT, the owners of the makes of automobiles which 
*-* are not fitted with Perfection Springs, since they do 
experience breakages in even restricted service rendered, 
are compelled to have their broken springs replaced — or, 
do without the service of their cars. 

CLEVELAND, with its 20,000 owners of automobiles, 
is also headquarters for a large number of broken 
springs — because not a fezv of these automobiles are not 
fitted with Perfection Springs. 

CTILL, there is no sufficient reason why any Cleveland 
owner of a car should suffer any longer, than the few 
hours required to replace broken springs with unbreak- 
able springs — Perfection Springs! 

YJTfHEN Mr. Christian Girl started the Perfection 
" tion Spring Company, he delivered his message of 
quality to the makers of automobiles wrapped up in loyal 
springs for their automobiles. 

T^HE Perfection Spring Company did not at first get 
all of the sturdy-going spring business, because all of 
the makers of sturdy automobiles did not know that Per- 
fection Springs were the best from the first but they have 
learned at last. 



TODAY, if you want a shining-light automobile, all that 
* you have to do is to be sure that it is fitted with Per- 
fection Springs; the rest follows as a matter of course. 
If you want to improve your own automobile, run it into 
the new Service Depot of the Perfection Spring Com- 
pany, situated at 2008 East 65th Street (just off Euclid), 
Cleveland, where skilled men in spring suspension work 
will quickly replace your broken or wilting springs with 
Perfection Springs, or improve your car by heat-treating 
the shoddy irons that annoy you so much on the road. 

LJOWEVER, you may not require spring service to-day 
* — you may never require springs if your car is fitted 
with Perfection Springs — but, how about next week? 
How about your springs ? Are they Perfection Springs ? 
If not — and they break — will you be content to again 
risk your life (and the lives of your family) or, will you 
drive around to the Perfection Spring Service Depot, 
2008 East 65th Street, Cleveland, and even though you 
are not now in need of service, request the manager to 
just show you around — he'll be delighted to meet you ! 

Y/OU may live out of town. If so, and you need serv- 
A vice, this company undertakes to ship complete 
springs or separate plates for springs ( from stock i xna 
express or parcels post to any part of the United States. 
It may not be quite convenient for you to pay a personal 
call at the Perfection Service Depot. In that event, you 
may not be quite familiar with the growth and girth of 
the Perfection Spring Company. You may never haye 
seen the magnificent spring plant known as No. 2 of 
the Perfection Spring Company, located at Central Ave- 
nue and East Sixty-fifth Street, nor would you be 
acquainted with "old" No. 1, with its hum of industry; 
the plant where Mr. Girl first instituted scientific spring 
making and, where the finest brand of steel in the world 
— Krupp steel, all the way from Essen, Germany, in the 
hands of Master Spring-Maker Mclntyre, sowed the seeds 



for the largest spring plant in the world — the magnificent 
new plant at Central Avenue and East Sixty-fifth Street. 

IF you live out of town; if you can't take the time to 
visit the new Perfection Service Depot, write a letter 
telling the make and model of your car; ask the com- 
pany to replace your broken or defective springs with 
Perfection — Krupp springs. 

IN any case, if you have never had Perfection Springs 
on your automobile, you will probably think that we 
have got to tinker with shock-absorbers. The reason 
why you have contracted the shock-absorber fever is 
because your springs are bad — replace your poor springs 
with Perfection Springs — it is not so costly; the results 
are better. Then, too, you will be dealing in a certainty 
— a dead moral certainty, with a guarantee as long as 
your arm and as big as your thigh. 

IN order to insure prompt future service against the day 
when your springs may break, fill in the coupon leaf 
of this book and mail it to : — 



The 
Perfection Spring Company 

Central Ave. and East Sixty-fifth St. 
Cleveland, O. 



- 



,;■ 




Looking at the new Service Station of The Perfection 
Spring Company, Cleveland, O. 




Interior View of the new Service Station of The Perfection 
Spring Company, Cleveland, O. 



Perfection Spring Company 

Central Avenue and Sixty-fifth Street 
Cleveland, O. 



Gentlemen : 

My automobile is operated under : — 
State license No State of 



Make of Car Chassis No.- 



Model Year 19 

Style of Body Seats 

Remarks 

Please register my car in your service record in order 
that, should the springs get soft or break, I will be enabled 
to call upon you for quick replacements or repairs, with the 
understanding that I am under no obligation to you in thus 
placing my name before you. 

Sign— 

Street 

r City State 



Note 

Upon receipt of this Coupon 
Page, ice will place the data given in 
our files, at the same time mailing 
you complete forms and instructions 
for ordering repairs from us "when- 
ever needed. 

This method will simplify your 
orders and facilitate delivery, as ice 
aim to make shipment immediately 
upon receipt of order. 



Research Effort Brings 
Rich Reward 

A BOUT ten years ago the world was set agog by the 
**■ announcement that two great French chemists, M. 
and Mme. Currie had discovered and isolated a new 
and wonderful element, radium. Yet, it is little known 
that radium had been prophesied, weighed, named and 
catalogued many years previous. The same is true of 
many other elements that have been isolated during the 
more recent years, as well as many others that have 
not yet, but doubtless will be, isolated. In this matter- 
of-fact-show-me era this statement suggests magic, and 
yet it is simple and reasonable when understood. 

The rainbow of legend and romance with its "pot 
of gold" has been transplanted in the laboratory and 
forced to give up its secrets. The cold, calculating eye 
of science has robbed the rainbow of its mystery and 
used it to reveal what nature had long concealed. 

It is now a well-known fact that the rainbow is 
produced by sunlight falling upon rain-drops and being 
thereby broken up into its colors. The rainbow, of 
course, takes the form of a circular curve because the 
rain-drops are spherical. 

The same effect of breaking up sunlight into its 
colors can be produced with a glass prism, though the 
resulting color band takes the form of a straight line 
if the prism is straight. This color band is called the 
spectrum and, when produced by the direct rays of the 
sun, the colors visible to the human eye blend in a beau- 
tiful manner from violet through blue, green, yellow 
and orange into the reds. Colors (invisible to the hu- 



man eye) no doubt exist beyond both ends of the color 
band, and, for want of better names, are called ultra- 
violet and infra-red. 

Scientists, as a basis of investigation, assume that 
sunlight is the light given off by the luminous vapors 
of the sun, such vapors being produced by combustion. 
The clear, pure white of sunlight is due to the presence 
of all the colors. The reverse of this statement can be 
proved by taking a printed reproduction of the sun's 
spectrum and pasting it on the edge of a disc. If this 
disc is revolved rapidly the eye is given the impression 
of white. 

If a ray of sunlight is passed through a glass prism, 
not only is the direction of the ray changed, but the 
white light is decomposed into colors ; it suffers disper- 
sion. It will be found that the red rays are deflected the 
least, while the violet rays are most deflected. (Fig. 1) 
The picture obtained — the spectrum — does not show the 
colors sharply separated, but merging into one another. 
Such a spectrum is called a continuous, or uninterrupted 
spectrum. 

A glowing vapor or gas behaves quite differently. 
It does not emit white light, like sunlight, but light com- 
posed of certain definite rays, which are characteristic 
for each gas or vapor. The light emitted from glowing 
vapors, or gases, when decomposed by the prism, yields 
on the screen an interrupted spectrum. If the light is 
passed through a fine slit before reaching the prism, 
the spectrum will be found to consist of a greater or 
less number of colored lines which always appear in 
the same position with any given substance, providing 
the prism or its position, is not changed. 

Continued and exhaustive study and trial brought 
out the fact that each element or substance, when burned, 



throws a line on the spectrum, the position of which is 
always the same for the same substance when compared 
with the sun's spectrum. When this fact was proven, 
the various known earthly elements were rapidly studied 
and their characteristic lines on the spectrum catalogued. 
For example: We know that if we throw common ta- 
ble salt (composed of two elements, sodium and chlo- 
rine) into a flame, a yellow vapor is quite evident. This 
is the sodium. If the light from this vapor were passed 
through a slit, thence through a prism onto a screen, a 
sharp line would appear in exactly the same position as 
the yellow in a spectrum from sunlight. 

For convenience of investigation, the spectrum of 
sunlight has been fixed as a standard and divided into 
definite numbered spaces in order that the location of 
any line can be catalogued by letter or number, thus 
designating its fixed location. 

When catalogued in this manner it was simple to 
compare the physical and chemical properties of the 
various elements that have neighboring lines on the spec- 
trum. 



The age of 
this wonderful 
study can be better 
appreciated when 
it is known that Sir 
Isaac Newton 
(credited with the 
discovery of the 
law of gravity) 
first experimented 
with a glass prism 
in 1666. The sun's 
spectrum was first 
charted in 1802 by 
Fraunhofer when 




Rays of sunlight passing through glass prism illustrating 
deflection and dispersion 



he lettered the various spaces of the color band from A 
in the reds to H in the violets. These designations of 
Fraunhofer are still retained in an amplified condition 
and are known as Fraunhofer lines. 

The complete cataloguing of all the known earthly 
elements in a form wherein they could be studied, re- 
vealed the fact that there were quite a number of blank 
spaces that could only be accounted for by the assump- 
tion that there were some substances indicated in the 
sun's spectrum that had not yet been discovered on 
earth. 

The similarity of the activities and characteristics 
of known elements whose spectrum lines were related 
or neighboring, led the scientists to assume that if one 
of these unknown elements represented by the blanks 
were to be found, it would prove to have characteristics 
resembling its known neighbors. This proved to be a 
correct assumption, for as soon as advancing science be- 
gan to isolate and identify some of these unknowns, it 



^ 



[ SIGHT-*] 

rMUSICAL SOUND*! h- — S 

Oi 20 AO I 47,50 4.IOOO "tbl 



VIBRATIONS 



-AUDIBLE SOUND -J 

FIG. 2— Diagram showing the effect of Vibration to 



was found that they fitted exactly into all the charac- 
teristics prophesied for them. 

The proof of the assumption or prophecy became so 
certain that scientists ventured to name these unknowns 
and describe them in advance by their discovery. 

Radium fell a victim to this seemingly uncanny 
prophecy. The blank lines reserved for radium were 
found to slightly indicate in pitchblend, carnotite and 
other uranium minerals. The indication was so slight, 
however, as to lead scientists to assume that the per- 
centage of radium in these substances was very minute. 

The Curries after pursuing the elusive element with 
exceeding patience and painstaking care, succeeded at 
last in isolating a very small particle. They were then 
in a position to study it by itself, weigh it, and test it 
before a spectroscope.. They found its spectrum line to 
fall in the heretofore blank space reserved for radium. 
They found its atomic weight to correspond to that as- 
signed to radium, hence, there was nothing to do but 
call it radium. 




produce the phenomena of sound, heat, and light 



Color Study Interesting and 
Profitable 

This study of the sun's spectrum has led scientists to 
discover and record many important and interesting 
facts. Principal among these facts is the existence of 
only three primary colors ; red, yellow and blue — all 
the other colors present in the sun's spectrum can be 
reproduced by blending and mixing these three primary 
colors in different proportions. The reason for this 
simple and well-kijiown fact is not generally understood. 

Light is the result of vibration exactly the same as 
sound. If a piano string is plucked, or struck, a sound is 
produced, and with the larger piano strings the wave 
motion of the string, which produces the sound, can be 
seen. This wave motion is the important factor and 
its length and speed of vibration determines the pitch or 
tone of the sound produced. 

Now, take the simplest form of wave motion, — a 
rope slackly hung between two posts. If it is struck, 
a wave will be seen to travel the length of the rope, 
and it is important to note that while the wave travels 
from one post to the other, the rope does not move 
in the direction of travel of the wave. A chosen spot 
merely travels up and down. It will also be noted that 
when the wave reaches a post, it gives the post a jerk and 
then bounces back on the return trip. This bouncing 
back can be likened to the echo of sound. While the 
wave motion of the rope can be seen, it cannot be 
heard unless the rope is stretched very tight. As the 
rope is gradually tightened, it will be seen that the wave 
travels more rapidly and the amplitude of the wave de- 
creases. Finally, if the tightening is continued suffi- 
ciently, a sound will be heard, though of very low pitch. 

Now, if we proceed to the bass strings of a piano 



we will note that we can plainly see their vibration and 
hear a very low tone. As we proceed up the keyboard, 
it will be seen that, as the pitch raises, we are less and 
less able to see the string vibration, or wave motion, until 
we reach a tone where the vibration is so small and rapid 
that the eye cannot detect, though it is possible to feel 
and stop it with the finger. 

The highest pitched strings on the piano possess 
an exceedingly rapid wave motion, and should we con- 
tinue above and beyond the range of the piano, the tone 
would become a mere squeak and further advance would 
bring us to vibrations or wave speeds too rapid to be 
recorded by the human ear. 

In order to produce an audible sound the vibra- 
tions must occur at a speed from 16 to 20 per sec. 
Tones of musical instruments range from 40 vibrations 
per second to about 4750 per second. Tones of higher 
pitch are shrill, and at an upper limit, varying with the 
hearer, they become inaudible at from 12,000 to 41,000 
vibrations per second. 

vSound waves may exhibit reflection, refraction, dis- 
persion and interference; all of which properties are 
likewise true of light. 

The sound produced by vibrations within the range 
mentioned above (from 20 to 41,000 per second, the 
limits of the human ear) is propagated by progressive 
longitudinal vibratory disturbances (sound waves), each 
including an area of condensation and rarefaction. These 
vibratory disturbances impinge upon the ear drum and 
are in turn transmitted to the auditory nerve. 

The waves of sound as thus defined have all the 
properties of a wave on a pool of water caused by a 
falling stone. The intensity of the sound varies directly 



as the square of the amplitude of the vibrations and 
inversely as the square of the distance from the sounding 
body. In dry air at freezing temperature it travels 
about 1087 feet per second. 



Relation Between Sound and 
Light 



We have seen that vibrations above 41,000 per sec- 
ond are inaudible. If the vibration speed is still further 
increased, a point is reached at about 374 trillion vibra- 
tions per second, where the vibratory disturbances, or 
waves, give the sensation of light to the human eye 
and we creep into the spectrum at the red end. From 
this point upward the increase of vibration speed car- 
ries us through the spectrum toward the violet. 

Through the vibration speed range, covering the 
spectrum, the effect upon the eye can be very closely 
compared to the effect of the sound-range upon the ear. 
It might almost be safely said that the eye hears the sound 
of the light. 

Further increase of vibration speed, beyond that 
which gives the violet of the spectrum, produces what 
are called ultra-violet rays. While these rays fail to pro- 
duce the sensation of light upon the human eye, yet 
they will affect photographic plates, sensitized with sil- 
ver chlorides, when quartz lenses are used. This latter 
fact was first discovered by one Scheele in 1777, but not 
thoroughly proven until about 1874. 

The known fact that light and heat go hand in 
hand, caused it to be proven that heat is produced 



by the same vibration speeds as light, though the vibra- 
tion-range of heat extends a little beyond both ends of 
the spectrum's vibration-range. These facts recapitu- 
lated show that sound, light and heat all have their 
origin in vibration and a map or scale of vibration speeds 
discloses some interesting facts. See Fig. 2. 

Increase in speed of vibration beyond the scale 
shown in Fig. 2 carries us into the phenomena of elec- 
trical and molecular vibrations which science is rapidly 
proving to be definitely related to sound, light and heat. 

To return to the spectrum and the study of colors, — 
the proof of there being only three primary colors, red, 
yellow and blue, takes us into the field of optics, a study 
of the human eye. 

The structure of the human eye with its focusing 
lens and sensitive plate, or retina, is well known. The 
retina which transmits the record to the optic nerve, 
and thence to the brain, is covered with a growth of 
fine hair-like projections which are set in sympathetic 
vibration by the light waves after passing through the 
crystalline lens. Science has shown that these hair-like 
projections are divided into three kinds, uniformly spread 
over the retina. One of these kinds will only vibrate in 
sympathy with the wave length of a red ray; one kind 
with a blue ray, and one kind with a yellow ray. 

Now, if a mixture of red and yellow rays comes 
through the lens of the eye, the hair-like projections 
corresponding will be set in vibration and the color sen- 
sation of orange will be transmitted to the brain. If 
there are more red rays than yellow, the eye will record 
a reddish orange, and if there are more yellow rays 
than red, the eye will record a yellowish orange, due to 
the fact that the hair-like projections are set in vibration 
in proportion to the amount they are excited by their 




Oil furnace in the Laboratory of The Perfection Spring Company, 
showing automatic means of heat control 



10 



own particular ray. This fact explains the phenomena 
of the shaded and over-lapped colors of the spectrum, 
and is further proven by the fact that any of the shades 
of spectrum can be reproduced by mixing red, yellow 
and blue paints. 

Color Absorption Clearly 
Defined 

The next phenomena of interest to be noted and 
explained is that of color absorption. A transparent 
tube filled with a red liquid will not emit red light in a 
dark room; but, if exposed to sunlight, appears red, be- 
cause all but the red rays are absorbed and the red 
rays alone reach the eye. If the liquid is green it is be- 
cause all but the yellow and blue rays are absorbed. This 
peculiar but well defined phenomena of absorption ex- 
plains why the color of certain liquids is changed by 
exposure to sunlight. The absorbed rays impart their 
activity to the molecular structure of the liquid, and if 
the structure is unstable, it yields to the attack and is 
changed thereby, thus altering the liquid's power of 
light absorption. Another way is to consider all the 
absorbed rays as being quite active and tending to force 
their way past all obstacles. 

If the liquid is opaque, it means that the composition 
is such that no rays are able to penetrate; and if the 
liquid is clear and colorless, it means that no obstruction 
is offered and all the rays pass through. 

Reflection of light and color follows similar laws. 
A red surface gives the impression of red, because it 
absorbs all but, and reflects only the red rays, etc. A 
surface appears black because it is so constituted that 
it absorbs all the color rays ; a surface appears white 
because it absorbs none and reflects all the color rays. 

11 




Salt bath, with quenching pan, in the Laboratory of The 
Perfection Spring Company 



A knowledge of these facts has led to great develop- 
ment in the arts, especially the manufacture, mixing and 
application of dyes and paints. A pigment or a dye is 
said to be ''fast," when it is of such a nature that it re- 
sists the attack of the light rays it absorbs, and remains 
unchanged. 



Body Finisher Profits With 
Others 

If the molecular structure of the pigment is unstable 
the absorbed rays attack the molecules and cause them to 
take new forms, causing the pigment to have different 
color-absorbing power. The activities of the rays cause 
some of them to burst through and the eye records the 

12 



sensation of a new color. It naturally follows that the 
more intense the sunlight, the more active are the rays 
and the more likelihood of a change of color. 

Transparent varnishes serve as a shield to protect 
the paint from the attack of the sun's rays by reflecting 
some of the rays. This reflection from the varnish ex- 
plains why a coat of varnish always gives the paint un- 
derneath a lighter color. 

Color varnishes, used to a large extent in motor car 
painting, are manufactured by mixing the pigment di- 
rectly with the varnish, and, in that manner affording 
each molecule of the pigment a protecting, wax-like coat 
to assist it in combating the activity of the sun's rays. 
Again we find, for the same reason mentioned before, 




Salt bath fitted with Master Pyrometer, in the Laboratory 
of The Perfection Spring Company 

13 



the color varnish is lighter in color than the pigment 
used. 



Vagrant Colors Impounded 

Painters, expert in their art, always let their final 
colors and varnishes set, or dry, in a dark room so as to 
give the varnish a chance to become thoroughly dry 
before exposing it to the pitiless sunlight. 




Micrograph of high carbon forging before annealing 

It is obvious, from the preceding, that colors of 
motor-car bodies are difficult to maintain due to the 
very nature of vibrations which make them indicate as 
colors. 

There is another very important series of damaging 
14 




Micrograph showing the effect of annealing upon the forging pictured on proceeding page 




Micrograph of oil-quenched and tempered forging pictured on preceeding page 

15 




vr 



Electric furnaces for ascertaining recalescence and decalascence of steel, in the 
Laboratory of The Perfection Spring Company 



influences brought to bear, which call upon the painter to 
exercise the utmost skill and care. These are the dan- 
gers that creep up from behind, as it were. 

For a long time wood has been used for motor-car 
bodies for lack of more suitable material. Since wood 
is invariably porous, the filler and paint fabrics sink in 
differently and many coats are required, with careful 
"rubbing-down" operations between, to produce a 
smooth, even foundation for the colors. All of this care- 
ful labor is defeated, however, if the wood itself is not 
absolutely dry. If it is not dry, before the finishing 
work is started, it will check and crack as it does dry 
out. Such cracks will break through all the coats of 
color and varnish, and permit moisture and other damag- 
ing substances to get underneath the primer and ruin the 
foundation in the neighborhood of the crack. 



Sheet metals are now extensively used and, while 
16 



they offer a relatively smooth surface, there are other 
difficulties to be found that are not present in wood. 
To begin with, the sheet metal is not porous enough to 
offer any anchorage for the paint, making it necessary to 
prepare the surface and apply special primers in advance 
of the paints. 

On sheet steel especially, the preparation of the sur- 
face, before applying a primer, requires that the sur- 
faces be sand-blasted and the removal of even the minut- 
est particles of rust. The presence of the least bit of 
rust is dangerous, as this oxide spreads along the surface 
of the metal and undermines the foundation of the paint, 
until a premature destruction of the paint fabric and 
even the metal itself, occurs. 

Acid pickling of the surface is sometimes employed, 
but great care must be exerted to neutralize the acid 
after it has removed the rust, mill-scale, etc., or the pick- 
ling process will continue after the paint is applied. 




Laboratory Chief Professor Z. B. Leonard operating Leitz micro-photographic outfit for 
metallurgical investigations, in the Laboratory of The Perfection Spring Company 

17 



1 ft* : ' "'• • 7 



wmmmmmmmmmm 



if 




Micrograph of 90 carbon spring steel in the annealed state 




Micrograph of 90 carbon spring steel in the hardened state 

18 



So much and more for the care to be exercised by 
the finisher. The owner of the car must observe cer- 
tain rules to keep his paint colors in good condition after 
the finisher has done his share. 

The final coat of varnish is applied, as described, 
to afford protection to the pigments. It also serves to 
keep out foreign matters that would tend to mud up the 
colors. 

Mud, water, tar, dust and many other road sub- 
stances, tend to attack and destroy the protecting armor 
of varnish. 

Grease, oil and other solvents off of workman's 
clothing will attack the varnish. Accumulations of all 
such impurities must be promptly removed; and an 
occasional coat of fresh varnish applied by a skillful 
finisher will serve to protect the color pigments and pre- 
serve their tone and original beauty. 




Micrograph of 90 carbon spring steel in the drawn state 

19 




Olsen cold-bend testing machine in the Laboratory of The 
Perfection Spring Company 

Removal of Stains and 
Grease 

A UTOMOBILING is a clean and healthy enterprise. 
*^ It (brings color to the cheeks of the delicate ; vim to 
the man who may have parted company with his business 
vigor; pleasure to the child of the wanderlust, and the 
color of poetry to the lady of the romantic mind. But 
soiled {garments may be the incident of the occasion. 
Unfortunately, too, axle grease is a most persistent 
character of product. It resists almost every effort to 
loosen it from its perch, as it is braced in the interstices 
of a weave. 

The best plan of attack, to renovate a stained gar- 
ment, if the stain is due to wagon grease, is to apply sol- 
vents, according to the character of the fabric, as fol- 
lows : 

20 



Linen : — Make a lather of soap with the goods, then 
apply oil of turpentine, then wash in a stream of warm 
water. Repeat, if necessary. 

Silk: — Make a lather of soap in the goods, apply 
benzine (not benzene) then apply a stream of water, 
using some force, or, let the water fall from a height. 

Cotton (colored): — Rub the fabric with lard; then 
soap it well. Let the goods stand for an hour, and there- 
after alternate washes of water under pressure, and 
turpentine. 

Woolens (colored) : — Rub the fabric with lard; then 
apply soap to develop a good lather. Let the goods 
stand for some time. Wash with warm water under 
pressure, and in turpentine. If the grease still resists, 
repeat the water and turpentine treatment. 




Olsen tension testing machine (capacity 100,000 pounds) with autographic means for 

recording elastic limit and tensile strength of materials, in the Laboratory 

of The Perfection Spring Company 

21 



THE IDEAL AUTOMOBILE 

DEFERRING to the ideal auto- 
mobile, when Victor Hugo 
pictured Quisimodo's soul, he ex- 
tended his language to include 
other hunch-backs as well. At 
all events, as Hugo said: — 
"Could zve sound the depths of 
that misshapen soul; could zve 
hold a torch behind those non- 
transparent organs, explore the 
dark interior of that opaque be- 
ing, illumine its obscure corners, 
its absurd blind alleys, and cast 
strong light suddenly upon the 
Psyche imprisoned at the bottom 
of the well, we should doubtless 
find the poor thing in some con- 
strained attitude, stunted and 
rickety, like those prisoners un- 
der the leads of Venice, who 
grew old bent double in a stone 
coffer too short and too low for 
them to either lie down or stand 
up/' 



22 




\: .:■! 



Olsen vibratory spring testing machine, showing Cadillac Perfection rear spring at end of 

test to destruction after 1 ,048,000 complete reversals of camber under full 

load, in Laboratory of The Perfection Spring Company 



23 




In the hardness testing of springs, by the Brinell method as conducted at the Krupp 
plant at Essen, on the Steel used by The Perfection Spring Company 



Cleansing the Oil Necessary 



/^\N MOTORS employing a circulating lubrication sys- 
^■^ tern it is necessary to strain the oil at least once in its 
journey through the system. Chips, sand, and gritty 
carbon, of sufficient size to cause bearing-damage, are 
carried along with the oil and, where the oil is pumped 
directly into main bearings or, through a hollow crank- 
shaft, such foreign substances would be delivered to the 
most dangerous point possible. Hence, the straining is 
an absolute necessity. 

Strainers are usually placed on the suction side of 
oil pumps, particularly when a ball check pump is em- 
ployed. Unless a strainer in such a location is of large 
capacity — stoppage is liable to occur (as the suction of 
most pumps is weak) as much foreign matter is present. 

24 



The pressure possibilities on the discharge side of 
a pump are much greater, however, and strainers placed 
on the discharge side can be of more dense material 
consequently giving more efficient filtration. 



AT high speeds an oil film is practically continuous 
**■ and keeps the surfaces quite apart. Such wear as 
then occurs must result from the presence of solid par- 
ticles larger in diameter than the thickness of the lubri- 
cating film. Since the thickness of an oil film under 
pressure is very small (less than one one-thousandth of 
an inch) it is apparent that a very small particle of for- 
eign matter will be sufficient to bridge the space between 
the surfaces and cause wear. It is obvious that the 
lubricant must be freed from all such foreign substances, 
especially if the substance is gritty. 




In chemical Laboratory of The Perfection Spring Company, depicting 
Johnson apparatus for determining carbon contents in steel 

25 



Microbe Lamp May Come 

Next 

YY/HILE practitioners squabble about the best method 
** of lighting the way for automobiles, the world ad- 
vances. A piece of tainted meat may ultimately sup- 
plant the electric light, the acetylene illuminator and the 
oil lamp. The living lamp is a laboratory reality to-day. 
From the laboratory to practice is only a step. That it 
will be cheaper to enslave a few hundred million lighting 
germs for a lamp than to operate an electric generator or 
an acetylene tank is the question. 

From all accounts the first practical microbe lamp 
was made in a laboratory at Prague, the result of research 
and effort on the part of Professor Molisch. At all 
events, from the remotest time, men have been attracted 
by the firefly — not a few of them were of the opinion 
that a swarm of these little insects would suffice for a 
good-sized lamp. However, luminescent microbes make 
dead fish shine in the night. The same microbes feed 
upon tainted meat, and the phosphorescent glare observed 
in darkness is given off by the microbes feeding upon the 
meat, and not by the meat, as so many have surmised. 
These microscopic bacteria may be propagated in jelly. 
Professor Molisch first succeeded in developing a large 
colony of microscopic lighting bugs by feeding a nucleus 
upon "peptone," putting the same in gelatine — the pep- 
tone served as the nourishing property for the bacteria. 

The nucleus of microscopic luminescent bacteria was 
transferred from dead fish to the peptonized gelatine. 
Maintaining a uniform temperature at the proper level 
for a sufficient time resulted in countless millions of 
these bacteria. The bacteria being provided with plenty 
of suitable food, multiplied at a surprising rate, waxed 
fat, as it were, and, to the delight of the observer, ex- 



hibited a high degree of luminescence. It was a simple 
thing to transfer a batch of bottled-up bacteria to a lamp- 
holder and, by means of a reflector, intensify the illu- 
mination to a degree which made it easily possible to 
read a newspaper in the glare of the concentrated light- 
rays afforded; even photographs were taken, using just 
such a microbe lamp for the source of light. 

Investigation in this interesting field is bringing a 
great number of new situations to the surface. It has 
already been discovered that there are a number of 
species of luminescent microbes. It has even been known 
that these microbes are of the most common kind float- 
ing around in the air. .When a piece of meat sus- 
pended from a hook in a butcher's shop is in its early 
stages of decomposition, if it is taken into a dark room 
it will in all probability, glow. The luminescent bac- 
teria producing the glow are of one specie or another 
commonly floating around in the air, some of which, 
lighting on the meat, multiply under favorable condi- 
tions, taking nourishment from the meat. 

It is of interest to note that the luminescent bacteria 
which inhabit meat in a butcher's shop is of the specie 
that furnishes the greatest amount of lumination; in a 
word, the best illuminating possibilities from a commer- 
cial point of view. Those who purpose experimenting 
upon luminescent microbes for lighting purposes will be 
aided in their research efforts to a material extent if 
they will be guided by experience. It has been found 
that the taint of meat is not due to luminescent bacteria. 
Indeed, it is a little difficult to find specimens of lumi- 
nescent bacteria in tainted meat. The taint is probably 
due to a mixed infection. Persistent research rewards 
the scientist. In the course of events he discovers the 
illuminating bacteria in the meat. If the meat glows in 
the dark, that is the sure sign. However, the bacteria 
in question is so prevalent in the air that a scrap of beef, 

27 



if it is partly immersed in brine in a fairly cool room, 
will, after two or three days, begin to glow. 

"Cultures" of light-giving bacteria of several species 
may be produced with a little care and attention, remem- 
bering that gelatine, peptonized, is the most efficacious 
medium of propagation of the bacteria. Experiment will 
soon enable the investigator to distinguish between the 
several species of the bacteria, since the candle-power 
per million of bacteria will differ. As before stated, 
while it is true that illuminating bacteria of dead fish 
glow considerably, they cannot hold a candle to the glow 
of the species found on beef in the butcher's shop. 

Microbes Yield Unfailing 
Illumination 

Persistence is one of the virtues of a colony of 
luminescent bacteria. The glow will continue with per- 
fect steadiness for several weeks after the colony is 
"fattened." The living lamp, for such it may be called, 
is a simple contrivance. Granting that there is much, as 
yet, to be learned about living lamps, the fact remains 
that a fairly efficient lamp may now be made. 

In order to produce a living lamp of considerable 
lighting ability, according to the best information, it 
will be well to pay strict attention to the purity of the 
luminescent bacteria to be multiplied. With a pure "cul- 
ture," if the gelatine is of good quality, it remains merely 
to plant the culture in the prepared gelatine, which is 
rendered fit by adding the peptone and, as lias been 
found to advantage in this type of effort, a little salt. 
For some reason the germs thrive best when salt is 
present in the feed. Let the "culture" develop — the 
glow, that is to say, the intensity of illumination, will 
be the best evidence of the condition of the colony. 

28 



When the "culture" is ripe, which will be shown by 
the candle-power of the mass, it remains to select a 
thin glass tube of good quality closed at one end and, 
after sterilizing the tube to get rid of all germ life ex- 
cept for the glow-germs in the gelatine, place enough of 
the gelatine in the tube to construct a thin film all over 
its inner surface, letting the excess of gelatine drip out, 
and then seal the open end of the tube. 

Still another way (and, probably the best prospect), 
is to prepare the gelatine as above, place it in the ster- 
ilized tube to form a thin film and, then, with a steril- 
ized platinum needle, "infect" the gelatine with the mi- 
crobes, taking them from a specimen of glowing beef. 



It will be un- 
derstood that a 
stray microbe 
from some other 
family of bacte- 
ria will set up 
housekeeping in 
opposition to the 
illuminating cul- 
ture and, if the 
intruder hap- 
pens to be of a 
persistent tribe 
with strong con- 
stitution, a fes- 
ter will develop 
to the exclusion 
of the "glow." 




In chemical Laboratory of the The Perfection Spring Company, 

presenting Dr. Townsend delving into the 

mysteries of materials 

29 



The "infection" will spread all over the gelatine in the 
tube, due to the rapid multiplication of the germs in 
a field so favorable to their existence. It will take 
about forty-eight hours for the "infected" tube to reach 
full glow- — this is a fair indication of the rate at which 
the germs multiply under favorable circumstances. 



The Theory of the Living Lamp 

"Photogen" is the name given to the protoplasms 
which are the cause of luminescence of rotten fish, 
tainted meat, and decaying vegetation — also for the light 
of fireflies, and other light-giving insects. Even the 
accumulations of glowing vegetation over the surface 
and on the bottom of the ocean, get their luminescence 
from this substance. "Photogen" has not, as yet, made 
itself wholly known to the scientist. The time was when 
"phosphorescence" was the only name by which the 
phenomenon was designated. 

In the firefly, and, for that matter, in all life offer- 
ing luminescence, it has been found that there is a 
considerable mass of structure composed of cells, each 
of which contains its speck of "photogen" — each micro- 
scope cell has its lantern, as it were. Scientists, in order 
to prove that the "photogen" was in the nature of a 
colony of microbes, rather than a condition of life of the 
original mass, removed the luminescent parts from vari- 
ous of these subjects, and, in each instance, after drying 
and pulverizing the mass, it was invariably found that 
the luminescence persisted for months at a time — for 
months, in fine, after the cells were dead. But, it was 
found that, upon dampening the mass of dried powder 
with a drop of water, the glow increased ; this proves 
that the glow comes from microbe-clusters, and that they, 
the microbes, in order to survive, have to be nourished. 

Luminescent protozoa, as they are frequently called, 

30 



abound on the surface of the seas and oceans all over 
the world. Because of the abundance of these mere 
microscopic animalcules lighting up the waters in colors 
of green and gold on summer's seas, especially in the 
tropics, it was easy to suspect that, since it is in salt 
water that the phosphorescent phenomenon is observed, 
that salt in the gelatine, along with the peptone, is nour- 
ishment for the light-giving microbes of the living lamp 
which promises to supplant electricity in the lighting 
of automobiles and for other purposes ere progress 
fetches up on the end of its rope. 



Ten Pertinent Suggestions 

1. Fill the gasoline tank with gasoline. 

2. Fill the lubricating oil reservoir with lubricating oil. 

3. Fill the radiator with clean water. 

4. Adjust the spark lever to the "late" position for 
safe cranking of the motor. 

5. Open the throttle a few notches in order to deliver 
a rich mixture for starting the motor. 

6. Observe that the change-gear lever is in the neutral 
position. 

7. Throw electric switch to "battery" — or to "mag- 
neto" if "battery" is not working. 

8. If necessary, "prime" the motor by "flooding" the 
carburetor. 

9. Engage starting crank by pushing it in direction of 
motor. 

10. Give quick pull up on starting crank, using left 
hand, and "spin" motor if necessary — never crank 
with right hand, or push down on crank. 

31 



Tires Contract Microbe 
Disorders 

CURGERY, when applied to rubber tires is a sure cure 
^ for the disorders that attack them. Like hospital at- 
tention to the ills of man, if the necessary surgical 
operations are put off, even for a day, the malady will 
make such inroads that the patient will ever after live 
in a state of delicate health, assuming that the attack- 
may not prove fatal. 

A great variety of mushroom growths have fond- 
ness for cotton, of which the fabric of the casings of 
tires is made. These growths belong to the family of 
mildew ; a growth of minute powdery or webby fungi. 
These fungi are whitish, or vari-colored. They perpetu- 
ate in the carcasses of decaying vegetation. In fine, 
these fungi are feeding upon the vegetation when it is 
said to be undergoing decay. 




In plant No. 2 of The Perfection Spring Company, showing operator 
in charge of Master Pyrometer Signal System 

32 



In order to thwart the designs of the millions of 
fungi which are to be found in every pool of water by 
the roadside, it is necessary to prevent them from get- 
ting their teeth into the fabric of the tires. This is 
easily done. The plan is to heal every little wound as 
soon as it appears on the surface of the tires. The 
coating of "gum", made from the latex of the rubber 
tree, hardened and toughened by suitable applications of 
curing substances, as sulphur and other compounds, is 
proof against the burglars among mildew fungi. 

The rubber of the tire performs several functions, 
but none are more important than the one of warding 
off mildew. Tire-surgery, under the circumstances, is 
a very important profession. Promptness is more than 
half of the battle. Seal up the wounds before the 
mildew penetrates the fabric. Seal them out; not in. 




In plant No. 2 of The Perfection Spring Company, private telephoi 
exchange, connecting all plants and departments 

33 



KNOW YOUR AUTOMOBILE 

IGNORANCE of mechanism is 
no excuse for lack of knowl- 
edge of your car. Yon must 
know that, when you requisition 
the services of a repair-man, he 
will charge you just the same 
rate per hour for his ten hours 
of service looking for the trouble 
as he will for the one hour of 
work. 

It is too much to expect of a 
repairer that he will know all 
about every make of car. It is 
all very well to rely upon a medi- 
cal practitioner to locate a "cyst" 
in the human machine — they are 
all much the same. Conditions 
differ in automobiles — get ac- 
quainted with the mechanism of 
your car. Tell the repairer just 
zvhat you want to accomplish. 
Confine Jiis effort to the work to 
be done. If he evinces a desire 
to rummage around looking for 
other possible troubles, tell him 
to make the excursion at his own 
cost and expense — he will lose 
interest after that. 



34 



The Laboratory Eliminates 
Chance 

'"THE growing relation between theory and fact has 
*" been paralleled by the close union between labora- 
tory and factory. The laboratory determines and cod- 
ifies the methods to be employed in fabricating the 
materials of construction into commercial units. 

The science of metallurgy has shown that com- 
mercial steels show wide variation as to chemical 
analysis, physical properties and molecular structure. 
It has also taught that, in order to intelligently han- 
dle a given steel, chemical, physical and molecular 
properties must be known in advance. This brings 
into demand a laboratory properly equipped to record 
these properties. 

Realizing that success lies along the line of 
knowledge, The Perfection Spring Company possesses 
a laboratory completely equipped to supply the knowl- 
edge required. Means are at hand to determine with 
great rapidity and accuracy, the chemical components 
of any commercial steel. The accurate Johnson appa- 
ratus is employed for carbon determination. All or- 
ders for steel contain a specification of chemical analy- 
sis with permissible limits of variation. Before a 
given shipment of steel is formally accepted and al- 
lowed to enter the plant, samples are taken at ran- 
dom and the chemical analyses thereof compared with 
the specification incorporated in the order for that par- 
ticular lot of steel. This method reduces to a mini- 
mum the possibility of any undesirable material get- 
ting into work. 

The fact remains, however, that in two pieces of 
steel of identical chemical analysis, there may be wide 

35 



differences in physical properties as a result of the 
steel making. Independent of chemical analysis, there 
are seven items that have a bearing on the quality of 
the steel before it enters the spring' plant. 

(1) The purity of the ores. 

(2) The clever blending of the ores and "scrap" when 
preparing to produce a desired steel. 

(3) The weight of the charge presented to the refining 
furnace. 

(1) The type of furnace employed in the refining pro- 
cess. There are five types of refining furnaces now 
in use, all producing different qualities of steel re- 
gardless of chemical analysis. 

(a) Bessemer. 

(b) Basic Open Hearth. 




Mr. Christian Girl, founder and President of The Perfection 
Spring Company, at his desk 

36 




In office of President Christian Girl cf The Perfection Spring Company, 
presenting Laboratory Specimens of the company's product 



(c) Acid Open Hearth. 

(d) Crucible. 

(e) Electric. 

The Bessemer furnace makes cheap steel possible 
but gives low quality, owing to the trapping of gases 
and other causes. The basic open hearth is better as 
it permits the escape of the gases and the reduction 
of the metalloids. If sulphur and phosphorous are 
present in the ores to an undesirable extent, it is possible 
to reduce them in this process. 

The crucible furnace calls for the handling of 
the ores in small quantities and with great accuracy, 
but is quite expensive. The electric furnace method 
is best of all as it removes the gases to a very high 
degree by virtue of the electrolytic action. The elec- 
tric method is extremely expensive, placing an almost 

37 



prohibitive price on its product. This difficulty has 
been partly overcome, however, by first using the 
basic open hearth to reduce the metalloids and then 
using the electric furnace to further refine and remove 
the gases. 

(5) Billet inspection. 

A proper chipping and cropping of billets removes 
"pipes" and seams. 

(6) Fabrication at the rolling mill. 

Best results are obtained by repeated rolling of the 
bars and continuing the rolling until the terminal 
temperature is correct. Careless mills pass the steel 
through the rolls a reduced number of times and 
cast it aside while the temperature is still high. 
Careful mills pass and repass the steel until exactly 
the proper terminal temperature is reached and no 
lower. 

(?) Treatment. After the bars have been rolled they 
are annealed — an operation requiring a consider- 
able measure of skill and care. 

Due to this variation in quality, with a given 
chemical analysis, it is necessary to further guard 
against faulty steel getting into the plant. Specimens 
of an incoming lot of steel are subjected to a series of 
tests which disclose the physical state of the material. 

Uses of the Micrograph 

The microscopic-photograph or "micrograph" 

makes possible permanent photographic records of the 
carbide condition of the samples. To produce such 
records a Leitz microscope with photographic attach- 
ment (imported from Germany) is employed after the 
specimens are polished and etched. 

38 



Such micrographs immediately show up inherent 
imperfections, small blow-holes, caused by trapped 
gas bubbles ; distribution of the carbide constituents, 
and other structural characteristics. 



The Tension Test 

Another sample, of known cross-section, is placed 
in an Olsen tension testing machine and broken; giv- 
ing the elastic limit, tensile strength, elongation and 
reduction of area. 

If the steel is chemically correct and has satis- 
factorily passed the above tests, in the annealed state 
as received from the steel mill, it is put through an- 
other series of tests having a bearing on and recording 
its performance when "heat-treated" in various ways. 



Points of Recalescence and 
Decalescence 

Before a specimen is subjected to heat treatment, 
its recalescent and decalescent periods are determined 
in small electric furnaces. In obtaining these most 
important critical points, a pyrometer of the greatest 
exactitude and sensitiveness is employed. A deter- 
mination of these critical points is absolutely neces- 
sary to intelligent treatment of the steel. The next 
step is to give several specimens different predeter- 
mined treatments in order to record the best. 

The pyrometer plays a leading part in all sub- 
sequent work. Specimens are now taken to the heat- 



treatment laboratory and heated in a gas-tired salts 
furnace. A delicate pyrometer automatically con- 
trols the tire in this furnace, so that an even pre- 
determined temperature is maintained. When the 
specimens have arrived at the desired temperature 
and are thoroughly heated they are quenched (hard- 
ened) in a tank of oil. 

When thoroughly cooled, they are "drawn" at 
desired temperatures in molten salt baths. Another 
pyrometer in the molten salt records its temperature. 




. P. A. Connolly, Secretary of The Perfectioi 
Company, at his desk 



Spring 



The Fatigue Test 



These specimens (marked according to the treat- 
ment they have received) are placed in a fatigue ma- 
chine. This machine grips the specimen solid at one 

40 



end and bends the other back and forth until fracture 
occurs, the machine recording the number of bends 
required to break the specimen. This test promptly 
indicates which treatment gives the greatest life to the 
S,"iven steel. 



Cold Bend Test 

Before the treatment giving the best fatigue test 




Perfection Spring Company, General Accounting Department, 
depicting light and airy offices 



is adopted as the best all-around treatment, other 
treated specimens are given the cold bend test. Here 
they are bent about a pin until they break, when the 
degree of rotation is recorded. When a specimen is 
doubled on itself (180°) and does not break, it is 
allowed to recoil until free, when the degree of recoil 
is recorded. 

41 



Comparison of the fatigue and cold bend test re- 
sults show which treatment gives the longest life 
commensurate with resiliency. 

Some of the fractured specimens are now polished, 
etched and micrographed in the treated condition, for 
further examination to note the carbide condition. 



The Plant Follows Suit 



When a steel has passed all these exacting tests 
and is not found wanting, it is accepted and released 
for work. Before it passes very far a complete plate 
spring is made up and sent into the laboratory for a 
vibration test. 



The Vibratory Test 

This machine affords a rapid means to break the 
spring under approximate motor-car conditions. It 
is hung on the machine in exactly the same manner as 
on the car and loaded up to what it is designed to 
carry. It is then bent up and down under full load 
by the machine, through a fixed amplitude until it 
breaks. A counter records the number of strokes. 



Uniform Results Follow 

The compiled data of the preceding tests gives the 
plant an exact knowledge of steel it is handling and 
tells the temperatures required to give the best results. 

42 



In The Perfection Spring Plant No. 2 alone there 
are 38 heat treatment furnaces, each and every one 
of which is equipped with a pyrometer. These pyro- 
meters are connected electrically to a common board 
where a master operator makes a record of the tem- 
perature of each furnace at definite intervals. This 
operator is enabled by an electric light system, to sig- 
nal the operator of each furnace as to the correctness 
of the temperature he is maintaining. 



Uniform Production the Keynote 

As a further guaranty of uniform production, a 
completed spring is taken from time to time and placed 
on the vibratory machine. The results obtained are 
checked against the result of the first vibratory test, 
and any variation is promptly corrected. 

Since all steel admitted to manufacture is tested 
for uniformity, it follows that a uniform product will 
result if uniform methods and treatment are pursued. 

The unremitting vigilance of the laboratory and 
the co-operation between laboratory and factory can 
only spell one thing — advance. 

The laboratory is constantly uncovering new in- 
formation and the factory is constantly profiting there- 
by. All problems are solved in the laboratory by ac- 
curate and definite measurement. 

When a new brand of steel is presented by a steel 
mill and extravagant claims made for it, the laboratory 
"frisks" the steel of its secrets. Records are made 
and if subsequent shipments do not measure up to the 
sample, it means that the mill is not capable of pro- 
ducing quantities up to the grade of samples. 

43 




Perfection Spring Company Factory Accounting and Cost 
Departments under efficient conditions 



The Perfection Spring Company, by means of its 
laboratory is constantly investigating new steels and 
comparing them with familiar brands, in the constant 
quest for better material. The thin-leaf spring, made 
famous by The Perfection Spring Company was per- 
fected in the laboratory because definite data was thus 
obtainable. Subsequent road experience ratified the 
earlier laboratory venture in this, as in hundreds of 
other examples no less conspicuous if not quite so 
spectacular. 



44 




Stenographic Department of The Perfection Spring Company, 
depicting a light and airy establishment 



Just a Word About Spring- 
Making 

YY/E HAVE been building springs for automobiles for 
* seven years. We fashioned the first thin-leaf 
springs for automobile use — they have revolutionized 
spring suspension practice. 

YY/E ARE specialists in the making of springs for au- 
** tomobiles, with two big plants devoted to spring 
making and to nothing else. 

YY/E KNOW that our facilities are, by far, the most 
complete, and that our staff of engineers, metallur- 
gists, spring engineers, chemists, and spring artisans, are 
the pick of the world. 

YY/E ENJOY, and justly so, a reputation for the qual- 
ity of our product which, if measured by compari- 

45 



son, places us so far in the lead that the traces must be 
cut in order to prevent the price of leather from going 
up and beyond the say-so of a mere pocket-book. 

\Y/E HOLD that the most valuable asset we possess 
" is the reputation our springs have made and are 
making to-day. Moreover, we understand — we know- — 
that our continued success depends upon the efficiency 
of the springs we build. 

TE REALIZE that a great reputation must grow and 

expand or suffer contraction. We expect to con- 
tinue to grow and expand. We make no secret of the 
formula — it is bounded by four reasons: They are (1) 
quality of material, (2) painstaking effort, (3) modern 
facilities and (4) broad business methods. 

TK GATHER, from the growth of our business — 

which increased 60 per cent, last year — that we do 
not have to invent complicated reasons why our springs 
are the best. They just, plain, ordinary, are the best, 
because we intentionally make them of the best steel and, 
in the best way. 

TE EXTEND to all, customers or not, the use of our 

chemical and physical laboratory, to help them solve 
their spring problems, just as we were enabled to solve 
our spring problems. The laboratory is modern and 
complete. Not a single necessary instrument, device, or 
fitting will be found missing. 

TK INVITE our customers and our friends in the 

spring-making business to come and see our plants ; 
see how we make springs, observe of the ways that will 
benefit them if they are desirous of making the best kind 
of springs or, of making the most efficient use of their 
springs. 

r E STAND in the light of having no argument of 

any kind with our customers. Since our springs 
are right we get the benefit of repeat orders. Should 
we take any other course, it would be a reversal of 
the policy that has brought to us abundant success. 

46 



W 1 



w r 



W [ 



w r 



w r 



Materials for Motor Cars 

\7ACUUM-TUBE investigations are rapidly leading up 
v toa very clear understanding of the behavior of the 
molecules of matter, such as reside in the fluids used in 
motors, steel for parts, castings of cylinders, etc. How- 
ever, nowhere is it possible to find license for the glib 
statements too often made that axles, for illustration, 
because of premature failure in service, do so on account 
of faithful service rendered, because of crystallization 
setting in. Crystallization is not an easily contracted 
disorder; it is more likely to obtain as an initial condi- 
tion of the process of manufacture, brought on by un- 
skilled heat-treatment work, or to be traced to a poor 
selection of material for a given undertaking. 

At all events, education is the cure-all. No maker 
of automobiles will risk failure through selecting infe- 
rior material for a given responsibility, if he realizes 
that the material selected for the purpose will not do. 
No user of automobiles will risk his neck in a car — or 
his money in an investment — unless promise is in fair 
keeping with performance. In the meantime, few men 
take the time to unravel the tangle that Nature wrought 
in materials for motor-cars. 

By way of proceeding, it may be well to observe that 
controversy gets in the way of progress. It is difficult 
to get men who do know, to tell what they know. It 
is easy to get men who do not know, to state what they 
think they know. Listeners are as liberal in one direc- 
tion, as they are in another. They pay little or no at- 
tention to either side of a question. The average listener 
knows that there are only three lights : the sun, the 
moon, and himself. 

In the meantime, progress makes for progress. The 
47 



vacuum-tube in the hands of the physicists, aided by 
suitable electrical instruments and auxiliaries, renders 
it feasible to identify the molecule of matter ; its beha- 
vior is noted ; its speed is determined and, in fine, it is 
forced to iveigh itself. Considering the trifling weight 
of a molecule — something like the trillionth of a gram in 
certain examples — it is something to caliper. Nor is 
it less difficult to determine the speed of a molecule, 
viewing the subject in the ordinary way. Indeed, re- 
membering that the speed of a molecule of ordinary 
air is not far from sixteen hundred feet a second in a 
free path, it presents no less difficulty than that expe- 
rienced in measuring the speed of a bullet out of a rifle, 
remembering that neither can impress the eye of the 
hopeful observer. 

But, the average man is willing to believe that there 
is such a thing as a bullet. He can examine and ban- 




Ladies Rest Room on second floor of the 
"Perfection" office building 



die it ; put it into a gun ; fire the gun, and, examine 
the hole made by the bullet where it strikes the target. 
Because the average man cannot pick up a molecule; 
toy with it; load it into a gun; fire the gun and, note the 
markings of the target, what does he say? Why, he 
says : "There ain't no such animal." However, it was 
over sixteen years ago when physicists captured the 
molecule and made it tell on itself. 

Molecular investigations are conducted by means of 
vacuum-tubes. A vacuum-tube is usually made of glass 
closed up at both ends. The air is exhausted from the 
tube as perfectly as possible. It will be understood that 
the air cannot be completely removed from the tube. 
One end of the tube is provided with a fluorescent 
screen — let us call it a target. The opposite end of the 
tube is fitted with an electric connection, much as the 
wires that are led to an ordinary incandescent lamp. A 
suitable source of electrical energy is connected to the 




Perfection Spring Company, Reception Room in lobby of 
the "Perfection" office building 

49 



tube. Instruments are provided for measuring the pres- 
sure, rate, and energy value of electrical energy supplied 
to the tube — necessarily, the instruments used are deli- 
cately wrought. A means is provided for applying elec- 
trical and magnetic forces of attraction and repulsion to 
the exterior of the tube. In the operation of the equip- 
ment, when the electrical current is turned on (much as 
an electric light is turned on), a stream of molecules 
travels the length of the tube in the direction of the tar- 
get. What do they do? They hit the target. How is 
that fact noted? They hit the target so hard that they 
strike a light, just as a light is struck when two pieces 
of flint are forcibly brought into contact with each other. 
Moreover, since the molecules hit the target so hard that 
their mass is raised to incandescence, hence, show a 
light, it is reasonable to suppose that the target should 
be battered up by the shower of blows rained upon it 
by the stream of molecules. Expectation is realized. 
The target is marked where the molecules hit it ! 

Where do the molecules come from? They are of 
the air which is left in the vacuum-tube, or they may be 
added to the residual air, it being impossible to remove 
all of the air from the tube. What is the significance of 
the presented situation? Let us revert back to the first 
principles of gunnery for purposes of comparison. 
First, the point, at which a bullet fired out of a gun 
hits the target, depends upon the muzzle velocity of the 
bullet. Second, the momentum of the bullet influences 
the aim. And, third, the downward pull of gravity 
tends to direct the course of the bullet to the ground. 
If there is any atmospheric disturbance, as "wind," it 
must be invited to participation in the calculation. In 
the same way, when a stream of electrically charged 
molecules are projected at high velocity for the length of 
the tube, first, the point of impact of the molecules with 
the target depends upon the initial velocity of the mole- 
cules, just as if they were bullets. Second, the momen- 

50 



turn of the molecules must be determined. Third, the 
deflecting influence of a "false" gravitational effort must 
be observed. This "false" gravitational effort is made by 
means of an electrical or magnetic device situated closely 
to one side of the vacuum-tube. There being no "wind- 
age," this factor is neglected. Now, knowing the mag- 
nitudes of all of the extraneous forces, the mass of the 
molecule can be calculated. Since the molecules mark 
the target where they hit, what is more simple than 
to deflect the stream of molecules more or less by means 
of the "false" gravitational force, thereby making it pos- 
sible to measure the amount of deflection. With this 
information at hand, knowing that the point at which 
the charged stream of molecules hit the target will vary 
according to speed; if the "false" gravitational force is 
increased or diminished, the marking upon the face of 
the target will be at a different point — the speed will 
change. The difference on the target may be meas- 
ured; the force of the "false" gravitational effort may 
be determined ; hence, from the known quantities, the 
unknown quantities may be calculated. Indeed, the po- 
sition of the "splash" of the stream of molecules upon 
the fluorescent screen — the target- — almost tells the tale 
at a glance. 

Molecules "Frisked" for Secrets 

It has been ascertained that molecules traverse an 
oscillatory path, normally accelerating to as high as 
eighty miles a second. In the vacuum-tube, it may be 
interesting to observe, that the electrically charged mole- 
cule under favorable conditions, reaches the terrific speed 
of one hundred thousand miles a second. At anything 
like this speed, when the molecules hit the fluorescent 
screen at the opposite end of the vacuum-tube, the force 
of the impact is so great that the molecules are heated 
to incandescence— they glow; the appearance is that of 
dazzling specks of light. 

51 



From reports emanating from the Cavendish Lab- 
oratory and from other sources by way of corroboration, 
we learn that the molecules of all bodies are in motion 
— they are never without motion. We are told that, in 
gases, there is nothing to prevent the molecules from 
passing from any part of the mass to any other part; in 
liquids, if there is any impediment, to the free passage of 
the molecules, it is a mere tendency, rather than a pro- 
nounced realization ; in solids, however, it is a molecu- 
lar diffusion, rather than a free passage of the molecules, 
to which we must pin our faith. 

We are exptected to believe, in relation to the free 
passage of the molecule, referring to gases, that, for com- 
mon air, its molecule is moving in its free path at the rate 
of sixteen hundred feet a second. However, a mole- 
cule of hydrogen moves at the rate of a mile (5,280 feet) 
in a second. Referring to liquids, the passage of the 




Comfortable quarters of Assistant Manager W. E. Perrine, of The 
Perfection Spring Company, Mr. Perrine present 



52 



molecule is at a far less rapid rate of speed. Even so, 
there is a constant transference of each individual par- 
ticle from place to place throughout the mass. In solids 
the rate of transfer of the individual particles is reduced 
to a mere diffusion — some of the particles in the solids 
are slowed down to a simple oscillation ; in other cases 
of solids, the molecules oscillate about a certain average 
position. Again, referring to solids, groups of molecules, 
aggregated to form regular systems, remain in much the 
same oscillating system — me must look for the crystalline 
structure in these groups of solids. 

But the molecule of free air, travelling in its free 
path at the rate of sixteen hundred feet a second, does 
not long enjoy a free path before coming into collision 
with other molecules ; it goes no more than one two- 
hundred-thousandth part of a second before it is de- 
flected from its straight line of travel. Actual collision 
never takes place. Instead, the molecule makes a zig- 




Mr. C. E. Clemens, Spring Engineer of The Perfection 
Spring Company at his work 

53 



zag journey ; it changes its direction of travel nearly five 
thousand million times a second. In liquids the move- 
ment is less rapid but, as before stated, there is a con- 
stant transference of molecules. However, instead of 
measuring in millionths of a second, fractions of a day 
must be substituted for the completion of the cycle 
referring to the travel of the molecule in the liquid. 
Then, for the travel of the molecule in the solid, remem- 
bering that it is more in the nature of a diffusion, the 
time of the cycle must be measured in years, instead of 
days. 

From information at hand it is to be inferred that 
the path of the molecule is zigzag ; that the motion of 
the molecule is oscillatory, and that the speed of the 
molecule is greatly accelerated if that molecule is electric- 
ally charged. Again, the speed of the molecule is less 
and less as the mass of the matter under consideration 
is compacted. In a word, in a rarefied gas, as in a 
vacuum-tube, the speed of the molecule is enormous ; 
destroying the vacuum, that is to say, letting in more air 
or gas, slows down the molecule. Were the gas com- 
pressed in the tube, the molecule would be retarded more, 
and, at a rate which would increase with the degree of 
compression. To carry the matter a little further ; com- 
pressing the gas sufficiently, allowing the heat of com- 
pression to dissipate, would reduce the gas to a liquid. 
Then, as we have learned, the speed of the molecule 
would be greatly diminished in that liquid. And the com- 
pression might be carried on, let us say. until the liquid 
would ultimately solidify — it would freeze. What then? 
The speed of the molecule would be reduced to a very 
low rate of travel. Considering solids, then, what is the 
inference? Why, if the solids are compressed, the effect 
will be intensified ; the speed of the molecule will be 
further reduced — and if the solid is finally compressed to 
the last word in density, it will be at the expense of 
speed of the molecule; if the molecule is so hedged in 

54 



by other molecules, if it has no place to go, its motion will 
then be in the nature of a mere quiver. However, before 
the molecule can be hedged in sufficiently to reduce its 
oscillations to a relatively speaking mere quiver, some- 
thing else happens; the mass becomes so dense and hard 
that it partakes of brittleness — it fractures readily. 

Let us have a second look at this phenomenon of 
molecular speed as it is referred to solids. 

(a) We are bound to assume that the molecules 
of all bodies are in motion — and, if we are, then must we 
not also take it for granted that, if the molecular motion 
is dispersed, the clusters of the involved molecules will 
suffer disintegration? 

(b) In proportion as the mass of a solid is com- 
pacted, so will the oscillations of the molecules of that 
solid be restricted and restrained. 

(c) It is reasonable to suppose that the only way 
that a solid can be rendered more dense is by adding 
to the number of molecules per unit of volume of the 
mass — that is to say, by compacting the mass. 

(d) If, by compacting the mass of a solid, the 
molecules per unit of volume can be augmented in 
number, explanation may then be made of the restriction 
placed upon the motion of the molecules — with an in- 
creased number of the molecules per unit of volume, 
the path of free travel of the individual molecule will 
be shorter and the zigzag course of the molecule will 
be more zigzag. 

(e) Molecular motion can only be attended by a 
loss of energy; increasing the molecular energy-loss is a 
mere matter of making the zigzag course of the mole- 
cule more zigzag. 

55 



(f) From what has been said, the strength of a 
solid (as a specimen of steel) persists so long as the 
molecules of that mass are in motion — suppress molecu- 
lar motion and the strength of the mass will fade out. 

(g) But the only way to suppress molecular motion 
is to crowd such a large number of molecules into a 
given volume that there will remain too little space in 
which the molecules may oscillate. 

(h) While it is not known how to utterly suppress 
molecular motion in a mass, even so, by a process of 
compacting and hardening steel, for instance, it may be 
rendered so dense that the molecular motion is so much 
restricted that the steel becomes brittle — it loses its elon- 
gation. 

(i) Why does the specimen of hardened steel attain 
brittleness with hardness ? Is it not because the molecu- 




Sales office of The Perfection Spring Company. C. W. Hatch 
at his desk 

56 



lar bond is overcome because the molecular tension is 
dissipated- — the energy is lost in successive accelerations 
of the molecule pursuing a zigzag course that is rendered 
more zigzag? 

(j) However, if a mass is made up of a conglomer- 
ation of elements, which is true of steel, it is to be ex- 
pected that the attending molecular conditions will dif- 
fer in the respective elements as they relate to each other 
in the conglomerate. It is to be inferred that the pro- 
cess of compacting of the mass will result in a divergence 
of the ultimate results in proportion as the molecular 
conditions change in the respective elements of the con- 
glomerate — some of the elements will compact easier 
than others, hence, some of the elements will retain 
their strength longer than the others. 

(k) Since it is believable that all systems of mole- 
cules persist for the period for which they may be 




Quarters of John G. Utz, of the Consulting Engineering Staff of 
The Perfection Spring Company 

57 



wound up, it is conceivable that all such systems must 
ultimately break up — they must some day run dozen. 

(1) What is there in a "wound-up" system of mole- 
cules that cannot be fully explained by referring to them 
as energized molecules? If so, may we not conclude 
that, by adding to the store of energy of the molecules 
we may add equally to the strength of the mass of the 
molecules? In which event, what is plainer than that, 
by increasing the molecular energy-loss, the mass of the 
molecules may be brought nearer to disintegration? 

. (m) Systems of molecules may break up, partly 
on account of the frequency of the oscillations and, for 
the rest, depending upon the system of grouping. But, 
why should we refer at all to the strength of the mass 
of the molecules in a group of molecules ? Would it not 
be more to the point to refer to the sustaining force of 
a cluster of energy reservoirs or vehicles (for want of a 
better name), imparting greater rigidity to that portion 
on the luminiferous ether in which they reside. In a 
word, since it is believable that the ether permeates all 
space, why is it not to the condition of the ether to 
which we refer at all times? If a zone of the ether is 
more intensively energized than the ether round about 
that zone, then is it not true of the energized portion of 
the ether that it will behave in a manner different from 
the surrounding ether which is not so intensively ener- 
gized? 

(n) Referring to the molecule in a somewhat differ- 
ent light, why is it not in the nature of things to be 
looked upon as a bubble of energy floating in the ether? 

(o) We say of the earth (and all similar bodies) 
that it is a bubble raising in the ether. What is the 
earth? Is it not an aggregation of elements — a plurality 
of compounds? And, what are compounds? Are they 

58 



not made up of the elements ? But, what are elements ? 
Systems of molecules, to be sure. Then, let us ask our- 
selves the question? What are molecules? Must we 
not answer : Bubbles raising in the ether f 

(p) Since it has been shown that systems of mole- 
cules, after they run down, disintegrate, does not that 
prove that a run-down system of molecules is merely one 
that has no plus potential? Very good, then, we have 
finally to admit that a molecule is a reservoir of energy — 
a bubble of energy. 

(q) And, if a molecule is to be regarded as a bubble 
of energy floating in the ether, what must we say of a 
system of such bubbles of energy, referring to their 
combined capability for useful work? Why, if the bub- 
bles are strung out too much, the strength of the whole 
will be absorbed between them in the process of main- 




p ; ;>■.:,,.;■'- :■■■ 



Purchasing Department of The Perfection Spring Company 
presided over by A. E. Homan 

59 




M. M. Mclntyre, Superintendent of The Perfection Spring 
Company, in his office 



taining the bond. Whereas, if the bubbles of energy are 
excessively compacted, there, again, is the cause of such 
great internal losses that over-much of useful work is 
scarcely to be expected. The free energy of the bubbles 
will be dissipated in a succession of accelerations to no 
purpose from the external work point of view. 

(r) What is meant by external work in this discus- 
sion? Why, it refers to the ability of a system of group- 
ings of molecules to withstand external applications of 
like forces. A beam, made of steel, for instance, offers 
an example of such a system and, in proportion as it is 
resistant, it measures its ability to perform external 
work. However, the very beam which is looked upon 
as normal is, in reality, a system (or a combination of 
systems) of molecules in motion, imparting rigidity to 
the luminiferous ether at a point of concentration as 
compared with the free ether. 



60 



Lubricating the Connecting 
Rod 



IN the "big end" bearing of a gas engine connecting rod, 
the load is neither constant nor continuous in one 
direction, thus permitting the bearing surfaces to alter- 
nately approach and recede from each other. On such a 
bearing the al- 
ternation is very 
rapid and the 
bearing will 
carry a great 
weight, for at 
each alternation 
the pressure is 
completely re- 
lieved, and the 
oil trapped can- 
not be expelled 
during the short 
time the load 
rests on the 
bearing. In the 
wrist pin bear- 
ing even greater 
pressures per 
square inch can 
be carried, for 
the angular 
movement be- 
tween the pin 
and bearing is 
alternating and 

relativelv Small Telautograph system used for inter-departmental communication 
by The Perfection Spring Company, making for silent 
and swift executive work 




61 



Christian Girl Answers 
Question 

DEOPLE frequently ask the question: — How did you 

* ever succeed in making your spring plant the largest 
and best known automobile spring-maker's plant in the 
world ? 

I7VERY success must have its explanation. Every suc- 
*-** cess has a common explanation, i.e., live up to an 
ideal. The ideal of The Perfection Spring Company is 
"PERFECTION." 

D EGARDING success. It may be just as well to point 
*^ out that "perfection" begins with perfected material, 
passes on to exquisite skill in the fashioning of the com- 
ponent plates of the springs and. ends with integrity — 
business integrity. 

E7ROM the first small beginning of this company a little 

* over seven years ago down to to-day, no steel-maker 
has ever sold a bill of steel to the company that was not 
of the best — the first fabric of the mill — for spring mak- 
ing purposes. 

17 VERY process of spring making, from the receipt of 
the steel and the laboratory testing of the same before 
use, gets the careful attention and personal consideration 
of M. M. Mclntyre, who, as every man skilled in the art 
knows, has a reputation spanning 40 years or more, as the 
Master Spring-maker of America. It is to this organiza- 
tion that the famous Krupp Company — the gun-makers 
of Germany, look for the proper handling of Krupp 
Silico-steel for springs, and it is in the plant of The 
Perfection Spring Company, that all Krupp springs are 
made for the American trade. 

62 



r^ENTURY-OLD steel makers, like Fried. Krupp, of 
Essen, Germany, are not the infants in business who 
would take any chance with incompetence or inexperi- 
ence. In the meantime, the plant of The Perfection 
Spring Company has grown and expanded, until, to-day, 
it is, by far, the largest spring making plant in the world. 

T^HERE is no better evidence of the sterling qualities of 
*" Perfection Springs than that afforded by the custom- 
ers themselves. They would complain were the springs 
inferior — they have no complaint to make — they never 
will have ground for complaint. 

ILLUSTRATIONS of great success may be found in 
every walk in life. The illustration of success in the 
automobile spring-making world, is The Perfection 
Spring Company. 

ZITHERS have tried to rival The Perfection Spring 
^^ Company, but they didn't have Krupp steel ; they 
didn't have Mr. Mclntyre; they didn't have the Perfec- 
tion Laboratory ; they didn't have the facilities ; they 
didn't stand back of their goods ; they didn't have the 
goods to stand back of. 

XJOTHING can prevent The Perfection Spring Com- 
1 ^ pany from continuing in the future, as it has in the 
past, to make the very best springs for automobile use — 
nothing but disregard and stupidity. But, since it was 
the reverse of disregard and stupidity that made the 
Company what it is — the greatest spring-making plant in 
the world — it is useless to prophesy anything but suc- 
cess, not only for The Perfection Spring Company, but 
for all who use Perfection Springs. 



63 



Don't Buy 
What You 
Can't Sell 

THERE is 
* o n 1 y one 
sound rule for 
the prospective 
purchaser to ob- 
serve — don't buy 
■what you can't 
sell. If there is 
no market for a 
thing it is not a 
commodity — it 
is a drug on the 
market. 

It is on ac- 
count of the 
soundness of the 
v j above rule of 

' ^*— —%f p Urc hase that 

Time clocks in plant No. 2 of The Perfection Spring Company the name-plate 

on an automo- 
bile is something 
to consider. An automobile which has a liquid value 
on the second-hand market, is worth more money at first- 
hand than a car that sheds its "liquid" with its lustre. 




If you want to know the best car for your purpose, 
be sure that the car will serve your end ; do your work ; 
answer your requirement — then look at the price-tag; 
glance at the second-hand market; note the "liquifying" 
possibilities and, on top of every other consideration, 
remember: don't buy what you can't sell. 



64 



The Trend in Spring 
Making 

LJESIOD, the Greek Poet (about 700 B. C), outlining 
A A in fable the early history of man, divided it into pe- 
riods as follows : — 

1. The golden age, taking the Old Testament as 
his basis, reflecting the nature of Paradise. 

2. The silver age, depicting a secondary and mun- 
dane idea, tinctured by the troubles of turbulent 
man. 

3. The age of domination, during which dissensions 
of the fierce, strong races reverted back to a state 
of savagery — and bronze weapons were con- 
trived for the occasion. Let us add — 




5W"'v.^ia%^/' 



Individual lockers ii 



separate room, available to the \ 
Perfection Spring Company 

65 



4. The age of chivalry followed, during which the 
strong and warlike were also heroic — only to be 
exterminated during the Trojan war. 

5. The present age. In a word, the iron age, with 
its mingled trials, tribulations and progress. 

Archaeological research has, for the most part, refut- 
ed the idea that the metals were brought into service 
by man in the following order, viz. : Gold, silver and 
then bronze; after which, iron. Archaeology tells us 
that, owing to its brilliant lustre and the fact that it oc- 
curs so frequently in the metallic state, gold was the 
first metal known to the human race. 

Primitive man probably first witnessed the rising 
sun in Southeastern Asia, at all events, the Pithecantro- 
pus erectus was first found in Java. In the evolution of 
primitive man the time arrived when he hit upon the 
idea of weapons of defense. He fashioned them from 
wood, and, from bone, and then stone. Gold, as it was 
most likely discovered in grains and nuggets along the 
beds of streams, was fashioned into ornaments because 
of its glitter; but, it was not used for weapons on 
account of its persistent ductility. 

Environment played its strong part during the up- 
lift of the human race. As man multiplied and spread, 
habitations sprung up in every type of adjacent land. 
Some lands were rich in mineral substances, while other 
zones were pastural. Trade, and barter ; disagreement, 
and war; surplus, and famine, each in turn, influenced 
for transportation. Each, in a measure, established the 
need of weapons of offense and defense — a knowledge of 
the use of metals grew. 

Archceolo gists and anthropologists fail, to present 
complete accord on the subject of man's uses of metals. 

66 



Some say that iron came into use before bronze, others 
contend that bronze followed stone for the fashioning 
the tools of the chase and the implements of war. But, 
no matter, let us go on. From the standpoint of eco- 
nomic geology and through the eye of the metallurgist, 
the easily reducible iron ores are widely scattered over 
the earth's surface, what is more probable than that, 
basking in the favor of bounteous nature, iron became 
the vogue where this ore was to be had ; whereas, bronze 
filled a long-felt want in its own sphere of influence. 

Brief Resume of Users of Metals 

in History— From 10,000 

to 8000 B. C. 

Babylonia, district of Mesopotamia, peopled by Se- 
mitics, coming from the upper Tigris-Euphrates River 
region, mingled with descendants of primitive Aryan 
tribes, of Asia Minor. The mingling of these races gave 




Willys-Knight cantilever rear spring under capacity -deflection lest at 
The Perfection Spring Company 

67 



rise to Babylonian culture. Records of the ancient Baby- 
lonians, dating back to 5,000 B. C, tell us of their rites 
and customs. Tombs and graves of these ancients give 
up their precious possessions of intrinsic worth, including 
gold, silver and bronze ornaments — but no iron is found. 

Contemporaneous Predynastic 
Egypt-From 4500 to 4000 B. C. 

YY/HEN the nomadic Semitics under the impetus of a 
*:. great wanderlust, pierced the land of the Nile Val- 
ley, they found others there to extend to them a warm 
welcome. Breasted is authority for the statement that 
these predynastic people were related to the Lybians of 

North Africa. 
It is also said 
of them that 
they f a s h- 
ioned the most 
cunning flints 
which were ever 
found among 
any people be- 
longing to this 
age. They also 
produced imple- 
ments of copper. 
Gold, silver and 
lead, while rare, 
were also in use. 




•*-■■ 



How the workmen of The Perfection Spring Company 

look after their pressing needs without 

leaving the plant 

68 



From 4500 
Down to 
2300 B.C. 

It is probable 
that within this 
period bronze 



first came into use. It was introduced into Egypt between 
the twelfth and eighteenth dynasty, most likely about 
2,000 B. C. 

Rameses II.-1292-1225 B. C. 

Iron plow-shares were used. Egypt procured much 
of its iron from Ethiopia. 

Thutomes III.-1500 B. C. 

Mention is made of the uses of lead. It has been 
recovered in Assyrian cities, viz. : Nineveh — the oldest 

known spoked- 
wheel was un- 
covered in a 
mummy pit at 
H&$&'~*&^^^^%F Nineveh. The 

f writer has expe- 

rienced the 
M a pleasure of ex- 

m |» a m i n i n g and 

J , M ''-. photograp h i n g 

this wheel. It is 

? wm worthy of note 

t - '- W, here that the tire 

H was ma( ^ e °f 

3jy* r T""" : r' wood. 

From 1300 

D o w n t o 

300 B. C. 

The Phceni- 
- . cians, never a 

Trimming press at work in plant No. 2 of The Perfection n -f-i n in f n a 

Spring Company — individual electric motors 

used throughout the plant true sense of the 

69 



fx — — — x^« i r ^ 

word, we r e, 

howeve r, the 
greatest c o m- 
mercial people 
of the ancients, 
thriving under 
Egyptian, Assy- 
rian, Greek and 
Roman rule. 
They were 
skilled metallur- 
gists. A colony 
of these people 
on the Island 
of Cyprus, oper- 
ated extensive copper ore smelters about 1300 B. C. 
They also accumulated stores of metal from distant peo- 
ple with whom they engaged in trade. Their most West- 
ern ventures in trade were with the Spanish (at Cadiz). 
The bronze industry thrived under the Phoenicians. It 
is said of this race of merchant-metallurgists that they 
mined iron in the Lebanon Mountains in Syria in the 
time of Solomon, 999 B. C. 




Motor-driven "trolley" shear, used in plant No. 2 for 
cutting off stock 




s load of plates from the cutting-off department 
en route to forging department 



70 



Wootz Steel 
—1500 B.C. 



India was an 
early producer 
in sf^el. Wootz 
steel was a fa- 
mous brand 1500 
R. C. Aden, on 
the Red Sea, 
was a great mar- 
ls e t-p 1 a c e in 
those days. 



r Welding was 

' IBSHHSMMIf known to the In- 

dians at an early 
date. In Delhi 
stands the Ku- 
tub column, a 
great mass of 
iron, partly bur- 
ied, and approx- 
imately 59 feet 
long, tapering 
from 16 to 12 
inches from bot- 
t o m to top. 
This column 
is nearly pure iron, dating from 1,000 B. C, and it 
seems to be made of small pieces welded together. This 
column weighs 19 tons. In the temple of Kanaruk, 
wrought iron beams were found 20.6 feet long and three 
inches in cross-section, dating from 1,250 B. C. 

Rome— 400 Years Down to 412 A. D. 




Motor-driven tapering rolls at work in plant No. 2 of 
The Perfection Spring Company 



Under the 
Romans the uses 
of the metals 
became wide- 
spread. The 
chief copper 
supply for the 
Romans who 
succeeded the 
Phoenicians, was 
from H u e 1 v a, 
Spain. Iron 
came from the 
Island of Elba, 
from Spain, 




Motor-driven beading and slotting machine operating in 
plant No. 2 of The Perfection Spring Company 

71 



Gaul, Illyria, and Britain, while tin, for bronze, came 
chiefly from Spain and Cornwall. 

How the Ancients Made Iron 

Easily reducible iron ore was mixed with charcoal 
and smelted in shallow pits in the ground, blast being 
furnished by means of skin bags through bamboo blast 
pipes. The product was a mixture of iron-sponge, clay, 
and undecomposed ore, which was again smelted with 
charcoal. The product was a hot, waxy mass of iron 
intermingled with clay. In other words, a ''bloom. " 
On the west coast of India this method obtains to this 
day. 

Germany— About 1450 A. D. 

The first production of cast iron traces back to Ger- 
many in 1450. From that time forward cast iron spread 
quite rapidly. 

Tuyeres Introduced in Sixteenth 
Century 

The first tuyeres or openings for the introduction 
of blast into the furnace were of stone. Copper tuyeres 
were invented in Germany at the beginning of the Six- 
teenth Century. Iron tuyeres followed in 1697. Coal 
took the place of charcoal in England in 1623 — the de- 
vice of Lord Dudley, so it is handed down. Belgium 
blast furnaces resorted to coal for the fuel in 1627. 
Abraham Darby began smelting with coked coal, or coke, 
in 1713. Richard Ford solved the problem of coke 
smelting at Coalbrookdale in 1742, making this plant the 
largest iron works in the world. Progress was rapid 
from that time forward. In 1768 Smeaton invented the 
cylinder blast engine, thereby greatly increasing the capac- 
ity of the furnace. The heated blast was made by Neil- 
son in 1829. 

72 



1740 Brought the Crucible 

In 1HA0 Benjamin Huntsman invented the crucible. 
Actual spring-making dates from the crucible. Prior to 
the crucible uniformity of product was out of the ques- 
tion. Then, too, spring steel is high in combined carbon. 
The crucible is capable of delivering high carbon steel. 



Puddling Process Came in 1784 

Henry Cort in 1784 made a great step in the process. 
He introduced the reverberatory furnace. Steel (mak- 
ing springs commercially possible), was the product of 
accidental discovery. When cast iron and wrought iron 
were charged on shallow hearth, the product, to the sur- 
prise of those who made the "mistake," was in the nature 
of steel. Of course, steel was even a prehistoric prod- 
uct by the "cementation" process. 



1856— Henry Bessemer Invented 
His Process 

The quantity production of steel dates from the 
Bessemer furnace. 



Early Days of Practical Spring 
Making 

QBEDIAH ELLIOTT, an English carriage builder of 
^^ substance, native of Lambeth, England, applied for 
letters patent on spring suspensions for vehicles in the 
year 1804, hence, recording a definite step in the art, in- 
troducing to the world a practical application of the full 

73 



elliptic spring. But the history of spring-making, how- 
ever vague back of 1804, would be incomplete without 
mentioning some slight attempts at cushioning vehicles 
against road inequalities as far back as 1750. Nor, 
was this early activity limited to England, although, the 
"Tight Little Isle" lays claim to the first efforts in this 
direction, which claim is clouded in a measure of con- 
troversy ; both in PYance and in Germany mention is 
made of what we now term flat plate springs — certainly 




Mammoth testing machine in plant No. 2 of The Perfection Spring Company, 
proving-out truck springs 

as far back as 17-10 — beginning with the crucible pot 
for the production of steel. 



Our concern is not so much in the early history oi 
flat-plate spring-making, as it is in the fact that progress 
has been slow in this field of industry; nor, are the rea- 
sons hard to find. It will be remembered that spring- 
making could scarcely progress in the absence of steel 




Testing scroll hangers in plant No. 2 of The Perfection Spring Company 

of the requisite quality and in quantity. Steel in quan- 
tity dates from Bessemer in 1856. It, therefore, follows 




Assembled springs after being tested (those failing to come up to standard, being rejected) 
in plant No. 2 of The Perfection Spring Company 

75 



that real spring-making dates from Bessemer rather than 
from the crucible pot. Proof of the fact that spring- 
making could not have amounted to very much prior 
to the introduction of steel, in quantity, while it is not 
particularly necessary at this time, is in ample evidence 
in every museum in England, France, Germany and else- 
where on the Continent. The royal equipages of what 
we now call "antiquity" were either constructed without 
springs of any kind, or the bodies were suspended on 
leather straps. 

In the days of "puddle iron" which preceded the 
introduction of steel in the crucible pot, it was extremely 
difficult to make springs because the iron was almost 
devoid of carbon. Carbonizing nearly pure iron is a 
slow and difficult process. The art of making springs 
really dates back to about fifty years ago, and in these 
fifty years, while it is true that considerable activity has 
been recorded, the fact remains that there was very little 
technical progress made. Spring-makers were never 
very scientific. As a matter of fact, they were the vic- 
tims of their own secrets. If one of them by any chance 
discovered a process that promised something more than 
the parent state of the art provided, he kept it to himself. 
Real progress cannot be made through secrecy and 
stealth, it being true of the industries that the more pro- 
gressive of them thrived and prospered at the cost of 
the least progressive among them. 

But the backward condition of the spring-making 
art must not be entirely ascribed to the secretiveness of 
those who worked in the industry. No spring can be any 
better than the material of which it is made, and metal- 
lurgy itself is a distinctly modern institution. Indeed, 
all that we now know on the subject of metallurgy, is 
scarcely to be rated beyond the A-B-C of metallurgical 
possibilities. In proportion as the better equipped lab- 
oratories ascertained, by definite and persistent investi- 

76 



gation, points of interest and profit to the spring-maker, 
the art advances ; but even now, there are not a half 
dozen well equipped laboratories in the world devoted 
in even a fair measure to the spring-making art, whereas, 
in America, there may be two well-equipped laboratories 
operating exclusively for the benefit of the spring-maker, 
but, our personal positive knowledge extends to only one 
laboratory of this character — the Perfection Laboratory, 
Cleveland, O. 

Questions of 
Standardization Arise 

HTHE problems of standardization thrust themselves 
A into the issue. Realizing the benefits to be derived 
from standardization, it remains to be said, however, 
that before standards are susceptible of being crystal- 
lized, it will be necessary to know just what to standard- 
ize. Until a number of well-equipped laboratories are 
operated exclusively for the benefit of spring-making, it 
will be. impossible to effect standardization for want of 
evidence. It is all very well to learn from the laboratory 
that certain things are likely to happen; that certain sit- 
uations confront the spring-maker, and that they are 
likely to recur, but the fact remains that one man in 
the absence of corroboration has not a very convincing 
voice, and it is equally true in the spring-maker's art 
that one laboratory should not supply the standard. 
However, those who operate without the knowledge to 
be gained in the laboratory should have no voice in mak- 
ing standards. 

However much the problems of standardization are 
in need of laboratory information, the fact remains that 
there are some situations so self-evident as to be worthy 
of consideration. For instance, there is no advantage in 

77 




At the assembling bench in plant No. 2 of The Perfection Spring Company 



the present practice of employing such a large number 

of widths of steel. The fabricators of steel will decline 

to carry them in stock. It is more to the point to 

fix upon a 
limited num- 
ber of widths of 
steel such as 
may be looked 
upon by the fab- 
ricators of steel 
as good stock t< i 
carry. Again, it 
is not fair to 
the steel-maker 
to ask him to 
supply sample 
lots o f "jew- 
a . t , » „. . , r . e ^ r y steel" for 

A cord of half-elliptic springs in the finishing department ' r 

of plant No. 2 of The Perfection Spring Company pUTpOSeS OI 

78 





Forming spring plate over a "master" at plant No. 2 
The Perfection Spring Company 

commercial exploitation, and thereafter, order from that 




Cord of completed Overland springs passing out the finishing department at plant No. 2 
of The Perfection Spring Company 



79 




The Perfection Spring Company's Executive Staff (From left to right). 

Z. B. Leonard, Treasurer E. W. Farr, Secretary I'. A. Conn< 

H. E. 1 

80 




O. Blanchard, R. K. Johnson, W. E. Perrine, John G. Utz, Thos. J. Fay, Professor 
istian Girl, Superintendent M. M. Mclntyre, C. E. Clemens, J. J. McMahon, 
/er, C. W. Hatch 

81 



steel-maker quantities of inferior product. It is not 
necessary to go into the laboratory to look for honesty. 
Nor is it possible to induce the steel-maker to believe 
that a laboratory is in good business calling for "quality" 
samples and thereafter placing "quantity" orders. 

Referring to quality, the old-fashioned spring-maker 
had one idea, which was not a bad one in his time. He 
took into account the fact that the spring is made up of 
a plurality of superimposed plates. It was not difficult 
for him to see that a defect in one plate was over-lapped 
by steel without defect in the adjacent plates. It repre- 
sented the same thing as in a built-up wooden beam, it 
being the practice of the wood-worker to employ a num- 
ber of planks in the beam and reverse the grain of the 
laminae, in order to get away from the ills of knots, 
checks and other imperfections residing in the wood. In 
a word, a flat plate spring, no matter how good or how 
bad the material therein may be, or what the heat-treat- 
ment, is self-protecting in a large measure for the very 
simple reason that the imperfections in one plate are 
supported by more perfect material in the adjacent plates. 

Not a few of those old spring-makers have survived 
the wiles of time, and we have carried along in the art 
of spring-making not only the fallacies of by-gone days. 
but they still persist in taking advantage of the things 
that proved to be of advantage from the first inception. 
In the meantime, as modern testing equipment adequately 
shows, there is all the difference in the world between a 
well-designed spring composed of fine material, and rule- 
thumb product of the old-fashioned spring-maker. 



82 



PRESS OF 

ACME PRINTING CO. 

CLEVELAND O 



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